S. 98 · 119th Congress

Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025

Introduced on Jan 15, 2025 by Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). 4 cosponsors, 3 of them from another party. Became Public Law 119-89.

Stage
Became law
Public Law 119-89
Introduced
Jan 15, 2025
Cosponsors
4
3 from the other party
Policy area
Science, Technology, Communications
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Sent to the President
  6. Became law

Official title

A bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a vetting process for prospective applicants for high-cost universal service program funding.

Subjects

  • Internet, web applications, social media
  • Rural conditions and development
  • Telephone and wireless communication

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Public Law, May 11, 2026). Public domain.

Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025

This act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to vet the qualifications of applicants for certain funding programs that support affordable broadband deployment in high-cost areas (e.g., rural communities).

Specifically, the FCC must develop a vetting process for applicants seeking funding under high-cost universal service programs for the deployment of a broadband-capable network and the provision of supported services over the network. The FCC must require applicants to submit a proposal that contains sufficient detail and documentation for the FCC to ascertain that the applicant possesses the technical, financial, and operational capabilities related to the proposed deployment and has a reasonable business plan. The FCC must evaluate applications against reasonable and well-established standards and must consider each applicant’s history of compliance with the requirements of other government broadband funding programs.

The FCC must establish this vetting process through a rulemaking proceeding. After the rule is finalized, funds may only be awarded to applicants that satisfy the standards established therein.

Finally, the FCC must set financial penalties for applicants that default in some manner during the evaluation process before they are authorized to begin receiving support.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Shelley Moore CapitoR-WVSponsor

Democrats · 3

Republicans · 1

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 15, 2025Introduced in Senate
  2. Jan 15, 2025 · SenateRead twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  3. Feb 5, 2025 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  4. Apr 28, 2025Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-14.
  5. Apr 28, 2025 · SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-14.
  6. Apr 28, 2025 · SenatePlaced on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 48.
  7. Jun 26, 2025Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
  8. Jun 26, 2025 · SenatePassed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S3570; text: CR S3570)
  9. Jun 27, 2025 · SenateMessage on Senate action sent to the House.
  10. Jul 3, 2025 · HouseReceived in the House.
  11. Jul 3, 2025 · HouseHeld at the desk.
  12. Apr 20, 2026 · HouseMr. Allen moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  13. Apr 20, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2976-2978)
  14. Apr 20, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 98.
  15. Apr 20, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2977)
  16. Apr 20, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2977)
  17. Apr 20, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  18. Apr 30, 2026Presented to President.
  19. Apr 30, 2026 · HousePresented to President.
  20. May 11, 2026Signed by President.
  21. May 11, 2026Signed by President.
  22. May 11, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-89.
  23. May 11, 2026Became Public Law No: 119-89.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.